A Very Local East London Diary

March 10, 2017

And so, ten years after complaints were made about the state of the legendary "former toilet" at the fork where Millfields Road and Mildenhall Road meet, a housing entity called Moore House is rising from the site. Will it turn out to be what it the original plans for it, produced in 2011, said it would be?

March 08, 2017

On Sunday, my wife and I went to the Castle Cinema above the Spar/Eat 17 shop on Brooksby's Walk for the first time. The outing was a belated birthday treat from my three younger children. It was also the keeping of my promise to myself to hurry up and visit this enterprising revival of a long lost local moving picture house.

August 13, 2016

They have branches in Hyderabad, Manitoba and Milan as well as all over the US and the UK, and now the international pizza chain Domino's have turned up in Lower Clapton Road. This shouldn't be a big surprise - there are already outlets in Mare Street, Stamford Hill and Leyton, which tells you something about market taste for pizza in this part of London. Protests such as greeted the arrival of a Tesco Express near the pond seem unlikely. But how will this local manifestation of global capitalism affect rival pizza outlets down our way?

July 17, 2016

It's been years since an estate agent planted a sign heralding a "former toilet" above what was, indeed, the site of a defunct public lavatory at the confluence of Mildenhall and Millfields Roads - nearly ten years, would you believe. In 2011, an architect's design appeared in virtual form along with plans. There was a public consultation. But 18 months later nothing had happened and went on not happening until suddenly, recently... serious construction action! Will it look like what was envisaged five years ago? Will anyone who isn't absolutely loaded be able to afford to live there?

June 04, 2016

Last July the story was: "Here comes the Jackdaw jazz cafe." But the venture has lasted less than a year. This is a shame, just as the closure of Maeve's Kitchen is shame. Now there are two empty spaces where examples of local gentrification had been, once again raising questions about why some manifestations of the "new Clapton" have taken root and others haven't. The Jackdaw seemed nice enough, but did it over-estimate the Dalstonisation of this neck of the woods?

May 31, 2016

Once, long ago, I was walking north along the southern end of Lower Clapton Road when a man stepped from a shop and said to me: "Come inside and smell the leather." He wore a leather cowboy hat and leather boots. I know what (some of) you are thinking. You are wrong. "Come on in," he persisted. "Come in and smell that leather." I could, in fact, already smell it. Peering into the shop, I saw the bags, boots, coats and shoes that were emitting it.

February 01, 2016

I wasn't a devotee of Maeve's Kitchen but I'm still sad that it's closed down. What happened? Until someone out there tells me, I can only speculate. The restaurant's website and Facebook page say only that it has "decided to take a prolonged pause from trading." The freehold of the entire property, which includes two flats above the restaurant space, is for sale for £795,000. This could mean that Maeve's was doing OK as a business but that the owner, Maeve's erstwhile landlord, reckoned to make more money from the sale if the premises were sold empty. Or maybe Maeve's was closing anyway and the landlord has decided to cash out. Or it could mean something else.

January 24, 2016

Havana's cafe at 207 Lower Clapton Road was a long time closed and much missed, in my household at least. Finally, last autumn, it reopened as Ten Ten. The owners, who also run Dom's Place a few doors down, are the same but it is now a very different cup of tea.

The big telly has gone and so has the old menu, which was basically traditional English cafe fare with a few Turkish options too. The new one is more what some might call "new Clapton" and the premises is now licensed to sell alcohol. The refurbished interior, like the atmosphere as a whole, is quieter and there are now comfy window seats as well. As you'll see from the photo above the customers include truly lovely people, some with fabulous big hair, some with almost none.

When I went in the other day I tried their beef burger (with cheese, caramelised onions, tomatoes, lettuce and pickle in a rinkof brioche, to give it its full title) with a side salad and some fries. I'm pleased to report that it was delicious. These are still early days for Ten Ten and no doubt it will take a while for it and its potential punters to find each other. I recommend you give it a try.

July 14, 2015

Exactly as I took this photograph a jazz trio was warming up at Dom's Place next door. That was fitting and hints at a potential for some interesting competition because Jackdaw, which is set to open soon at 201 Lower Clapton Road, has been described to me by one of the men doing it up as a forthcoming "jazz cafe". It replaces Cave of Plunder, whose treasures, it appears, weren't alluring punters in sufficient numbers.